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FAMILIAR FACES

Pascal Chimbonda faces his best friend in football at Charlton on Monday - knowing he could hit the final nail in his relegation coffin.

Pascal Chimbonda faces his best friend in football at Charlton on Monday - knowing he could hit the final nail in his relegation coffin.

The French full-back was team-mates with Souleymane Diawara at Le Havre between 1999-2003 before Pascal moved to Bastia, then Wigan and Spurs. Diawara switched to Sochaux before arriving in the Premiership and the Valley at the start of this season.

If results go against them on Saturday, Charlton will have to beat us to stand any chance of survival – but Pascal and the lads have European qualification in their sights and will target nothing less than three points from the televised encounter.

“I’ve known Souleymane for about eight years,” revealed Pascal. “He’s my best friend and I see him a lot outside football.

“He’s a good player, a strong, physical defender but it’s been a difficult season at Charlton.

“I know Charlton are in trouble but we need the points to go into the UEFA Cup again next season. He’s my best friend off the pitch but on the pitch, I play for Tottenham and I will do my job.”

Senegal international Diawara has made 25 appearances in defence in his first season.

“We were together at Le Havre and I’ve kept in contact with him every since,” added Pascal. “When he came to England I told him how difficult it was to play here because the matches ae so much different, more physical and in France you can play one touch, two touch and play at the back, but you can’t do that here.”

Diawara isn’t the only familiar face for Pascal likely to be in Charlton’s line-up – he was also with Alexandre Song at Bastia for a season. Song was snapped up by Arsenal and is currently on loan at the Valley.

“He’s a good player and if Arsenal took him, you know that,” said Pascal. “He’s younger, a raw talent and he’s progressing well.

“If we win every game, I believe we’ll finish fifth or sixth,” he continued. “But we need to concentrate for the rest of the season.”

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